Ish Smith season in review and grade
By Duncan Smith
Ish Smith made the most of his strengths to help keep the Detroit Pistons afloat in this tumultuous past season. Let’s review and grade his season.
When Ish Smith was signed last July to a three-year $18 million contract, he was heralded as a flawed but improved backup point guard to replace Steve Blake for the Detroit Pistons. He ended up being called upon to be much more than that after Reggie Jackson went down with knee tendinitis in training camp and started the first 21 games of the season.
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Smith remains the deeply flawed shooter he’s been since coming into the league, but he found ways to accentuate his strengths and work around his weaknesses. The Pistons pushed the pace eagerly when he was on the floor and the ball moved crisply with him quarterbacking the offense. Thanks to being a responsible ball handler, the Pistons kept their turnovers low and were among the league’s best teams at preventing transition opportunities and points.
In spite of the fact that not many players on this team are exceptional defenders, Smith’s veteran savvy was instrumental in keeping opponents off the board. While he struggled in the pick-and-roll with Andre Drummond, primarily because teams could sag off him with impunity, forcing him to shoot over the top, he found tremendous synergy with Tobias Harris, Aron Baynes and Stanley Johnson. This foursome outscored their opponents 110.8 to 103.6 per 100 possessions when they were on the floor together.
Smith had the second-best true shooting rate of his career, albeit a meager 47.7 percent. He also posted the second-best defensive box plus minus of his career at +0.4. Smith was a valiant soldier on the floor and a consummate professional in a tumultuous season where he was asked to go above and beyond what was expected of him when he signed with the Pistons last summer.
The Pistons ultimately failed in their goal to make the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, but Smith frequently performed at a level higher than the sum of his parts.
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Grade: B-